Colored Icing Is the Fruit Of All Woes
by Blanco Pagina
Summary: Winter Fic #3 - The sixth year girls are making cookies and the Marauders and Frank watch. James is convinced to FINALLY ask Lily out again...Really, it's been seven months, twenty-two days! James/Lily


_Colored Icing Is the Fruit of All Woes_

"Colored icing is the fruit of all woes," James sighed to his friends as they watched the girls. There was a collective groan as yet another one licked the sugary deliciousness off of their finger.

"Oh to be the icing upon that hand!" Sirius moaned, and rubbed his thigh, the closest place he could touch in open company without someone shooting him a dirty look.

"You guys are total wimps," Remus smirked, but the effect was ruined when he let out a whimper. The girls were putting icing _on each other_.

"This is totally not fair!" Sirius exclaimed. "Why are we not in this?!" He bit back a growl as Amanda Wright, his current _thing_, ducked to avoid flying sugar and exposed a large amount of skin (most likely due to the almost-mid-drift sweater she was wearing, which also conveniently hugged, ahem, _other_ regions).

"We aren't in this"—James cried, narrowly avoiding an airborne gingerbread cookie –"because McGonagall loathes us all. Well, not Remus, but I suppose it was pushing it a _bit_ when the animated mistletoe we charmed to follow her started licking her neck." He smiled slight at the memory and chewed on a snickerdoodle.

"Ah, Minerva's just mad because it was a piece of shrubbery and not my gorgeous lips." Sirius said confidently. Remus snorted and Sirius threw James' half-eaten cookie at him.

"Well _either way_ we still don't get to be in this." James frowned, snatching his cookie back and sighing as he threw it to the floor. It was gross now.

They all leaned back against the stack of crates they sat upon and gazed about the room. The kitchens were packed with sixth year girls and a few scattered house elves, all crowded around a huge table covered in dough, icing, and _flour_.

"Wait, is that _Peter_?!" Sirius exclaimed a few minutes later. He leaned forward and pointed to a short, mousey figure being shoved back and forth between sugar-crazed girls. James leaned forward as well and gasped.

"The _devil_! That boy's in the mix! What's he doing there?" James started to get up.

Remus shoved him back down from the other side of Sirius. "Idiot! Do you know how much trouble you'll get in if you go over there? I, for one, do not want to get detention two days before the holidays!"

"And who's going to stop me, hm?" James asked, hands on his waist. "Lily doesn't know we're not allowed over there, and do you see any teachers over here?"

"No, but"—

"Hey, there's Frank! Hey, Fra"—Sirius was interrupted by both James and Remus shoving their hands over his mouth.

"Bloody nutcase!" Remus hissed. "Frank was there when McGonagall yelled at us! _He_ knows we're not supposed to be here!"

But it was too late – Frank had seen them and was coming towards them at a steady pace.

"Hey, mates! How're you doing today? Come to see the birds bake? Always loved Alice in an apron…" He glanced back at the girls, and then grinned at them. "But really, how are you? James – gotten with Lily yet?"

With almost any other person James would have been furious, but amazingly it was a valid question with Frank. "Nope, not yet. I was hoping to say something soon – you know, maybe use the holiday cheer to guilt her into it – but we only have four days before break and she doesn't seem to ever be free to talk." He frowned in her direction, and then cracked a smile as he watched her be pelted with flour by Alice and Emmeline.

"Well then maybe you should be a bit more random about it. You know, surprise her." Frank leaned comfortably against the crates. "When I asked Alice out, she told me later that she was taken completely by surprise. I guess Lily already knows that you like her, but maybe if you were more…arbitrary about it she would freak out. Plus, how long has it been since you last asked her out?"

James groaned at the thought and tallied up the numbers. "It's been…about…seven months, twenty-two days since I asked her out last. I would have the exact time, but I don't have a watch with me."

"Don't offer him a watch," Sirius murmured to Remus, who snickered.

James ignored them both and looked exasperatedly at Frank. Frank gestured to the girls and said, "Well, ask her then. It's been long enough. But make sure she knows that you're asking her not because you like a joke, but because you _want to go out with her_."

"Oh, it's more than _going out with her_ that he wants…" Remus muttered to Sirius. They both smothered laughter.

James took a moment to smack them both upside the head; then stood. He walked hesitantly towards the girls and glanced back once at Frank. Frank nodded; James walked forward and didn't look back again.

James nudged his way delicately through the crowd of girls, making sure not to elbow anyone. He didn't need to give Lily a reason to say no. Finally he reached the edge of the table, where he proceeded to look around him. Lily was several paces to the left, where she was still in being covered with flour. He watched for a moment as she sank slowly to the floor, weighed down with the substance, and waited for the perfect moment.

Finally she was almost on the floor, and he moved. Moments later he was there, and he nodded towards Alice and Emmeline, and they melted into the crowd with matching grins.

James put on his best non-arrogant smile – the one that typically caused Lily to blush slightly and loose her sense of balance (as if he wouldn't notice…) – and placed his hands nonchalantly in his pockets. He watched as she huffed on the floor, wiped the flour from her eyes, and looked around. He saw her glance around, notice the male legs in front of her, and slowly move her gaze upwards until she saw his face and grimaced.

He chuckled (the one that always made her shiver) and offered a hand. "It seems your friends have abandoned you. Need a hand?"

She sighed – he loved to watch her expressions – but took it anyway, then smothered a yelp as he effortlessly flew to her feet.

When she made to move, though, he didn't release her hand. James gently pulled her closer. Lily could've pulled away easily (well, not _easily_, but still…) but she simply pursed her lips and let him bring her closer. She watched him warily.

"You know what I think?" James asked softly, barely heard over the chaos around them. Lily didn't answer, but she twisted her lips just so, giving him the okay to continue.

"I think," He whispered, pulling his other hand out of his pocket as they bumped chests, "you need to go out with me."

She didn't even snort.

He continued, "You know what else I think?" She gave an almost-imperceptible shake of the head. "I think I need to kiss you right now."

Lily's eyes widened slightly then blinked furiously as flour flurries danced across them.

James laughed quietly and lightly brushed away the flour from her face with the pad of his thumb. Then he laced his fingers in hers, and took her other hand and placed it on his chest.

She took a deep breath, and he could tell she was trembling. It was then that James noticed the kitchens had gone quiet except for a few scattered whispers. Teenage girls. Figures.

Lily clearly hadn't noticed, though. Her hand slid up his chest as far as it could reach, almost to the back of his neck. There her fingers lightly played with his hair. He sucked in a breath.

James leaned forward, never looking away from her. His unattached hand wrapped around her waist and hugged her close. He saw her swallow, and almost laughed. Somebody nervous? She wasn't the only one.

How could a single kiss be so epic? James had kissed dozens of girls, and none could mean more to him than this one kiss. He _couldn't_ mess it up.

He slowly dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. James heard a collective sigh from their audience, and was glad for it since it distracted him from getting too caught up in the kiss. He could tell Lily was into it, and resisted the pull of her tongue as it pressed against his mouth.

James sighed mentally, though, and lightly pulled away, cursing his devious nature.

He smiled as he pulled away, and released her gently. "So was that a yes?" He asked, not _too_ brightly.

"Hm? Mmm, mhmm…" Lily licked her lips slowly (James felt his pants tighten.) and then bit her lip and sighed, looking at him with a mixture of wonderment and frustration. "Right, ah, yes…I suppose…I guess I might as well." She looked resolved then, and cleared her throat. "Ahem, ladies, I believe we have baking to do," she said loudly, and waited until the girls had begun baking again (with somewhat less enthusiasm, now that none of them was getting kissed) to say anything else. Lily opened her mouth to speak but James beat her to it.

"Great, then. The next Hogsmead visit is tomorrow. I'll see you there?" James smiled at her, kissed her lightly on the cheek, and turned to make his way back to the Marauders (and Frank), and only looked back once, to give her a sexy grin. She turned red.

--

"So how'd it go?" Remus asked as the two made their way towards Gryffindor Tower. (Sirius had stayed to grab a girl, and Frank had gone to find Alice and "charm her," he had said, "in honor of your great achievement. She's sure to be all riled up from it, and ready to be kissed.")

"You saw," James reverted back to his usual smirk. Remus rolled his eyes and elbowed James, and the boys made their jolly way back to the Tower. Mission accomplished.

_Fin_

--

So, the title doesn't really go with it towards the end, but I felt the need to leave it because it makes me so happy. ^_^ R&R, please, and PLEASE check out my profile for my Christmas challenge! I'd be ever so disappointed if no one did it…And I suppose I'm kind of preaching to the wrong crowd here (It's Maximum Ride), but_ pleeeeeeeeeeease_? And if you're not into it, get your MR-reading/fic-ing friends to do it!

Anywho, review, and also extra bonus points (you already get points for reviewing) to anybody that gives me new one-shot ideas! I'm like totally out, and I'm only three fics in! Pitiful, really…

3 Happy Holidays!

-Bub'les


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